Byakugan and Lightning
by GobiKitsune
Summary: When a seemingly unnoticed clan steals the sacred techniques of Kumogakure, Squad Eight is sent out to investiagte. Unfortunately, they don't realize how desperate the clan is for power... Hinata-centric, pairings unknown
1. A New Mission

**Byakugan and Lightning**

Chapter One

* * *

"Kaihaku, have you gotten the scroll?" A razor, female voice echoed through the darkness.

A smirk could be seen.

"Yes, Koukyo-sama, I was successful. Kumogakure's 'sacred' techniques are ours." Kaihaku answered, an unrivaled darkness in his voice.

"Good," Koukyo laughed, "This one scroll has opened up so many different possibilities for our clan. Once we have the scrolls of the other Great Nations, even the mighty Hyuuga will tremble at our power."

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself, neechan." A younger, male voice warned.

"Katsuro? What are you doing here?" Koukyo hissed.

"Neechan, you know as well as I that you can't invade these nations and take the scrolls, just like that. The whole Clan will get wiped out that way." Katsuro's voice was much more gentle than the other two.

"Stay out of it!" Koukyo yelled, "You have no business here!"

"Koukyo, calm down." Kaihaku ordered.

Koukyo groaned angrily, and Katsuro only huffed once before he left. His footsteps grew softer before disappearing completely.

"Your brother has a point, you know." Kaihaku murmured.

"My brother is a fool." Koukyo loathed.

"But he's right. The Seishin Clan is much too small to attack a village, like Konohagakure. We wouldn't stand a chance."

Koukyo was silent for a moment, "Maybe, but with our abilities alone, stealing their techniques won't be a problem. We won't need to step one foot inside of their village." She was much calmer now.

"True, true. We could always get someone else to steal them for us." Kaihaku chuckled, "Afterwards we will be invincible, the villages will fall under the might of our once 'pathetic' clan, their Kage will all perish, and we will gain our place of power."

"To think it all started with scrolls." Koukyo mused.

Kaihaku was riled up. "Not just scrolls, mind you. These are the villages' secrets, their past victories all bundled up for our taking. The Seishin Clan's taking."

* * *

"Alright, that's enough training for now." Neji nodded at his cousin, and stood still in his place. Occasionally, soft pants could be heard from him, although he wasn't nearly as tired as he could have been if he had worked longer.

Hinata, who had been training all morning with Neji in various Gentle Fist-related sparring, let herself drop to her knees, and pressed her fists against her legs. She coughed a couple times and then panted in an uneven rhythm. She could easily feel her heart pounding against her ribcage, and that just made it even more difficult to breathe.

"O-okay, Neji-niisan." Hinata managed to speak in between her breaths. Neji only smirked a little, and made an audible "humph" sound before heading out of the courtyard.

Hinata remained panting for a good moment, before finally relaxing and standing up. The muscles in her arms and legs were burning intensely, and her chakra level was extremely low. A cooling breeze was going by, however, so that made it slightly more tolerable. The Hyuuga girl wasn't in any position to complain, though, because she was the one who had nagged her cousin to death to train her. She refused to let Neji get too far ahead of her skill-wise, but it became apparent during sparring that catching up to him would be nearly impossible.

Hinata brushed strands of violet hair from her face, and trailed slowly on the path that Neji left in. It was pretty quiet at the Hyuuga Clan household that morning, and Hinata was surprised at how most of the clan was out on a mission or in training, or otherwise. She did feel a little bad about keeping Neji away from any Jounin-related business just for her, but he didn't seem to mind. He was a good sport, after all.

A flock of birds soared overhead, and their song rang in Hinata's ears as she headed to her own room to prepare for her usual team meeting. Once there, she wrinkled her nose in disgust at the lack of light coming in, and opened the windows. Like inconvenient clockwork, a zephyr rolled through the sky, and split off into a smaller gust which blew directly in her face. Hinata just giggled softly, and shot across from the window to her closet. She didn't bother thinking about what exactly to wear, and just snatched the usual lavender jacket, and then scrambled to put it on. She was trying to get ready and quick as possible so she didn't leave Kiba and Shino waiting, even though she normally did. The hangover of the rough training lingered in her muscles, but Hinata was doing the best she could to tune the pain out.

Bolting down the wooden pathway- and right past Neji, who only blinked and stared blankly as she passed him- random thoughts were running through her head about what kind of things they were going to do that morning. She wasn't looking forward to more training because of her sparring match, but if that was the case then so be it.

Hinata could just see Kiba and Shino, who were waiting patiently right outside of the gate. Shino was staring into the sky, and Kiba was ruffling the top of Akamaru's head.

"Good morning Kiba-kun, Shino-kun." Hinata smiled softly once she had reached her teammates. She clutched her arm and winced a bit as an electric pain shot through it.

"Hey, Hinata." Kiba replied in his generally happy mood, but his smile began to fade when he noticed Hinata's pain. "Whoa, you okay? You don't look like you're in the best of shape."

Shino just glanced at Hinata, but it was impossible to tell his emotions from the small portion of his face showing.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Hinata raised her hands up, and shook her head a bit, "Just a little sore from training is all." Her quiet voice seemed a little more confident today.

"With Neji, I'm gonna assume," Kiba scratched the back of his head, "Well okay then, just take it easy." Hinata nodded, trying to widen her smile just a bit more.

"So, do you have any news for today? Or anything?" Hinata asked, renewing the subject.

"Not yet, but we were going to check with the Hokage to see if we can get a mission." Shino answered, though his face was still as apathetic as always.

Kiba cut in right after Shino finished talking, "Yeah, I want a B-rank mission, personally." Akamaru barked.

"A B-ranked mission? Do you really think we can . . .?" Hinata trailed off. What did she mean? They were Chuunin now, and they were also well on the way to becoming Jounin. The more higher ranked missions, the better.

Kiba stared at Hinata. "Do I think what?"

Hinata's face turned embarrassed, "Oh, nothing! Nothing at all." Her eyebrows knitted together.

"Well, if you two are done having this conversation, how about we get going?" Shino turned and began walking at a slow pace away from his teammates. Though the comment bugged Kiba, Hinata could clearly sense the sarcasm in his tone and found it a little amusing. Shino was always so subtle.

"Yeah, sure." Kiba rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama, I've got even more papers for you," Shizune sang, pushing open the door to the Hokage's office with her back. A displeased grunt escaped her lips however, when she couldn't even see Tsunade through the stacks of papers on her desk.

"Oh, Shizune, come here." Tsunade's unreasonably calm voice ordered.

"Tsunade-sama, ho- how can you still have this much paperwork? I gave this to you yesterday!" Shizune dropped the stack of papers on the floor by the desk.

Tsunade sighed, and placed her head on interlaced fingers. "I don't know. It's just so boring."

"Well, it may be boring, but you have to get it done!" Shizune argued, crossing her arms. Her attention became distracted as she realized the absence of Tonton the pig. Tsunade took this opportunity to take on a new subject, and picked up a paper on the top of the pile.

"Hm. A delivery to Kirigakure . . . Rebuilding the Heaven and Earth bridge- oh, this is interesting. A small clan within the borders of Kaminari no Kuni has taken a special interest in stealing sacred techniques from various lands. They've apparently been driven out of Kumogakure because of this, and the Raikage has sent notices to the villages in a warning about this clan." Tsunade finished, putting the paper back in the only clean spot on her desk.

"What clan would that be, exactly?" Shizune asked.

"They're called the Seishin Clan. From the looks of things, they're a counterpart of the Yamanaka family." Tsunade took a moment to think, but what about, Shizune couldn't tell.

"The Yamanaka . . ." Shizune murmured.

"What is the availability of Squad Seven?" Tsunade asked immediately.

"Squad Seven? You just sent them out on a mission yesterday, don't you remember?" Shizune put her arms out, palms up.

Tsunade grumbled quietly to herself.

"What about Squad Eight?" She asked, closing on eye to match her bored expression.

Shizune paused for a moment and cocked her head. "Uh, I don't think they're on a mission-"

"Good. Bring them here." Tsunade interrupted Shizune.

"Oh, yes Tsunade-sama." Shizune bowed quickly a couple times, and then left the room in a hurry.

Tsunade sat in silence for a good while, before flicking the stack of papers. "I don't have enough patience for this job."

* * *

Hinata's mind wandering helplessly as her and her team strolled down a busy street in Konoha. She couldn't help noticing how boring the village was without Naruto there, and a strange feeling panged in her chest when she thought about the blond. So, she shook her head and tried to think about other things. She noticed a sign outside of Ichiraku's for a new ramen flavor.

_Oh, I wonder if Naruto-kun knows . . . I should ask-_ No. Hinata began to think again about Naruto, but she shooed away that thought as well.

"Do you think that Hokage-sama will have a mission ready?" She asked nervously. She was right to be nervous, because Kiba was way too outgoing- or just outgoing enough- when it came down to a mission.

"Of course she will!" Kiba barked loudly, which turned a few heads. "I mean, this IS Tsunade we're talking about." Hinata winced and looked down at the ground. She disliked it when Kiba drew attention to them, but at the same time she found it humorous. Even if Shino didn't.

"Yeah, seeing as the way she works," Shino answered after Kiba, "There's a high chance we'll have a decent mission. All of the other squads have been busier than us, lately, so there's bound to be something."

Kiba snorted, "Sure, they might be on missions, but we've been training like hell . . ." Akamaru barked in agreement, and his tail wagged at a steady pace.

Hinata turned to Kiba with a strange expression, a little regardful, drawn over her face. "That is true, but I'm sure the other teams have been training just as hard as us."

Shino nodded slightly, "I agree. Let's just be thankful we don't have to go up against them again." Hinata couldn't help remembering their first Chuunin Exams, where Genin of the same village were pit against each other. It was probably the hardest thing Hinata had ever had to do.

Suddenly, Shizune came around the street corner, and nearly ran into Kiba. Kiba yelped in surprised, and stumbled backwards.

"Oh, Kiba, Shino, Hinata. I was looking for you," Shizune brushed off her kimono, "Tsunade-sama requested that you go to her office immediately."

"Oh, will you look at that?" Kiba laughed, after regaining a portion of the ego lost from the run-in, "This is just plain convenience." Akamaru barked twice.

"Now we know we have something to do." Hinata agreed.

Shizune smiled, and nodded. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

"Glad you could make it." Tsunade stood up, and pushed her chair back a bit. She reached over and grabbed the paper she had been reading for the past half-hour, and handed it out. "Here."

Shino grabbed it, and looked it over a couple times.

"Well, we got our wish for a B-rank mission." Shino said simply, passing it over to Hinata and Kiba.

"This is awesome. We get to go all the way to Kaminari no Kuni?" Kiba asked, baring his teeth in a relaxed grin.

"Near there. I want you to find the location of the Seishin Clan, and keep a close watch on their activities." Tsunade brushed some hair out of her face.

"That's it?" Kiba asked. The disappointment in his tone annoyed the Hokage.

"Not exactly," Tsunade's eyelids relaxed until her eyes were half closed, "I want you to spy on them and get as much information as possible about their theft of sacred techniques in Kumogakure, as well as other villages." The Hokage finished, sitting back down.

Shino was the first to speak up, "How will we know if they stole any techniques? Actually, how is this mission supposed to be followed?"

Hinata glanced at Shino, then back at Tsunade. "I agree, I-I mean, we can't just follow them around, can we?"

Tsunade smirked. "Actually, that's exactly what you're going to be doing." Hinata's head dropped. "If they try anything funny, like raiding a village, or if they even catch you, I need you to knock them all out. Just don't kill them."

"I'll keep that in mind." Kiba said thoughtfully, although his sarcasm was almost hurtful.

"If you guys can prove that they have been stealing techniques, then this will give us the opportunity to take them out ourselves." Tsunade ignored Kiba, and spoke a little more grimly.

"Why would you kill them?" Hinata asked, more concerned.

"Hinata, I hope you understand. Stealing treasured techniques from villages is one of the worst offences. Plus, some of these techniques could pose to be a problem if they're put into the wrong hands." Tsunade answered the Hyuuga girl, not sparing to explain more. Hinata understood, and nodded slowly.

"Okay, let's just hope it doesn't get to that." Hinata spoke softly.

"Hopefully it won't. Squad Eight will leave for the borders of Kaminari no Kuni this afternoon at two. Be prepared." Tsunade flicked her arm out, which gave the three Chuunin the signal that it was time to go.

Walking down the hallways of the Hokage's mansion, Kiba shoved his hands into his pockets and chuckled, "Something tells me this is going to be an interesting mission."

* * *

Waaah, this is an experimental fanfiction that was inspired by... well, random Hinata stuff. I've never written a story from Squad Eight's view, so I thought this would be a nice change.

I do plan to continue this whether or not a lot of people like it, but I just thought I'd get the first chapter out as a little taste.

Oh, by the way, the Seishin Clan is a clan I made up on a Naruto roleplay site. I thought it would fit nicely into the story.

Last note: Couples... I dunno. As much of a huge NaruSaku and KibaHina fan I am, if the story doesn't really work with that couple, then I won't do it. Nor will I tolerate "do this couple!" or "do that couple!" Okay? Just getting that clear. But coupling is most likely gonna happen, so keep that in mind. I just don't know which one would work yet.


	2. Discovery

Yeah, I finally got the second chapter done. XP Sorry for the wait. Hopefully I won't disappoint you

* * *

_Kunai, shuriken, healing ointment . . . Okay, I think this is it._ Hinata thought, pleased with herself. She had packed just the necessities into the standard green backpack, and it didn't even take that much time. Although, she did wish it had, mostly because she hated having to wait for what seemed an exciting mission.

Hinata nervously peered up at the clock.

**1:45**

Her heart skipped a beat. It was almost two o' clock already? Okay, on second thought, it would have been nice to have some free time.

She slipped the backpack on and bolted out the door. If she was the last one there, she was going to kick herself. She was always the one holding everyone back, she thought, always her. Kiba and Shino were never late, and Kurenai-sensei had taken pride to be on time. Eventually Hinata's mind zoned out, and she was yet again buried in random thoughts as her physical form ran through the streets.

The Seishin Clan . . . It made her nervous thinking about how hostile they might be, but at the same time, she was just afraid of having to hurt them. It was always a last resort, and she didn't even know what kind of people they were.

Hinata snapped back into reality as she reached the Konoha gates. Kiba and Akamaru were there, but they were the only ones. She had gotten there a tad bit early, but not as early as Kiba had. He was preoccupied with having a conversation about who knows what with Akamaru, at that moment. She didn't feel like interrupting them, but at the same time she was curious as to why he bothered to show up so early.

"Hey, Hinata." Kiba called out as Hinata's running pace slowed into regular walking.

"Kiba-kun, when did you get here?" Kiba blinked, unprepared for Hinata to say anything other than a greeting.

"Uh, a while ago. My mother kind of kicked me out of the house." Kiba chuckled, and Akamaru sat down.

Hinata cocked her head. "Kicked you out? W-What do you mean?"

Kiba couldn't help it, but his chuckle turned into full laughter. "Well, I'd rather not say how, but I really ticked her and Kuromaru off. I swear, it was an accident."

Hinata became confused. Kiba was generally a good spirit, and he wasn't a troublemaker in the least. Anything he could have done couldn't have been too bad, but she was afraid to ask anymore about it. Even though he was laughing, Hinata guessed getting kicked out put him into a relatively bad mood.

"So, my question for you now is why you came so early." Kiba stopped laughing, and crossed his arms.

"Me? Well, I was just afraid of being late, is all." Hinata answered quietly.

"I didn't think you cared so much about being early, Hinata." A female voice called. Kiba and Hinata both perked up. It was their sensei, Kurenai Yuhi, and Shino, who was silent, but still walking alongside Kurenai.

"Good afternoon, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata bowed respectfully, and Kurenai nodded in acknowledgement. Kiba didn't say anything.

"I've gotten all of the information we need for this mission from Hokage-sama," Kurenai stated simply, "It's about time. Let's get going."

Kiba grinned, and Akamaru stood on all fours, barking twice. "Alright," Kiba replied.

The squad set off through the gates, and into the forest. They soared through the trees and brush, and Hinata was busy looking around in just about every direction. As much as she hated to admit it, this whole mission made her a nervous. At this point, a bird passing by would probably make her squeal.

"Hinata, you okay?" Kurenai asked, her voice almost soothing in Hinata's ears.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Well, just a little nervous." Hinata answered, stammering.

Kurenai's eyes narrowed. Kiba and Akamaru leaped ahead of the group, while Shino remained behind. It was a comforting formation.

"Relax, Hinata. It's just a normal mission." Kurenai gave a soft smile, and Hinata gave one back.

Even her sensei's words only settled her stomach a little, but the farther they were from the village, the more nervous she became.

_Kumogakure…_ Hinata thought, and repeated it in her head. Without warning, something inside of her snapped. She finally remembered why she was so scared of going to that country. It wasn't just the Seishin Clan, it was what happened when she was little; when Hinata was kidnapped by the Kumogakure shinobi in an attempt to kill her, and her father killed the shinobi. Then Neji's father offered himself to die. . . That was the reason why Neji was so angry with her- as well as the Main Branch- when they were first Genin.. Her heart pounded a few times, and her breathing became difficult.

However, her thoughts slowed and she felt a strange calm fall over her in waves. It was the past. It happened such a long time ago. Things were different now, and that was never going to be changed.

Hinata was once again focused, and Kurenai took note.

"Feel better now?" Kurenai asked in a regular tone.

"Yeah, I do." Hinata grinned, and soon the sound of Kiba's voice broke the moment.

"Guys! I think you need to see this!" Kiba shouted, and Akamaru whimpered.

The other three grunted, and dropped from the branches to Kiba's location.

Hinata's eyes widened, and she gasped as the sight of three dead shinobi entered her vision. They were just recently killed, and all three of their eyes were wide, and their mouths were opened into an everlasting scream. She winced, and put a fist to her lips. Kiba covered his nose with a sleeve, and his eyes narrowed into slits.

"What the hell happened here?" He growled from behind his arm.

Shino stared for a moment. "This isn't right. They don't have a single wound on them." Bugs crawled down his hand.

Kurenai turned to Hinata with an urgent look, "Hinata, I need you to look at least a kilometer in every direction."

Hinata nodded, "Byakugan." Her eyes flashed white, and her vision increased tenfold. She stood with a focused expression for a moment, as her teammates stared expectantly at her, and then she deactivated her bloodline.

"There's nothing," Hinata spoke seriously, "There aren't any signs of shinobi or anything. They _don't_ have any physical damage, either." She motioned to the deceased, "I don't think I've seen anything like it."

Kurenai got onto one knee, and closed the three shinobi mouths and eyes. It was better that they were at least in a respectable position instead of having such a horrified face after death.

"Look," Shino bent down by Kurenai and picked up a piece of cloth, it had the Kumogakure forehead protector on it. Hinata's head drooped. "It seems like Kumogakure is suffering in more than one way." Shino stood back up, and kept a clutch on the headband. There was a second headband, being worn by one of the other shinobi, but the third didn't have one on him. Kiba uncovered his nose.

"This is just weird. They weren't poisoned-" He observed, before having his sensei interrupt.

"We'd better get going," Kurenai said suddenly, "We shouldn't stay in this place for too long. It's dangerous. We don't know how they died, and it wasn't really any of our business in the first place," Her tone was bitter.

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata said in Kiba's place, and the group leaped back up into the trees.

"Hinata, are you sure you didn't see anything?" Kurenai asked the Hyuuga, who was still shocked at how adamant Kurenai was to leave.

"Yes, I-I'm sure. There wasn't anything other than the forest," Hinata replied, louder.

"Alright. All three of you, I need you to stay on your guard." Kurenai came to a conclusion. "Those deaths were by the Seishin Clan."

Hinata inhaled sharply, "The Seishin?" As if that clan didn't cause enough trouble.

Kiba and Shino gazed intently at Kurenai.

"You see, the Seishin was always a small clan. It was insignificant. However, their lack of members made them a secret, and their secretive nature makes them dangerous," The Jounin began, staring ahead of her, "I don't think Hokage-sama told you this, but the Seishin specialize in mental and…" She hesitated for a moment, as if thinking about her wording, "almost _psychic_ Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Much like the Yamanaka Clan, but with a certain difference: Their techniques are not only mostly undectable, but a lot of them are fatal."

Hinata looked away from Kurenai, and Kiba grunted.

"They can invade a shinobi's mind without the shinobi ever knowing. Discovering their thoughts, techniques, memories, everything. However, this is only one of their techniques. The Seishin can stop activity of the brain in an instant if they have the chance, and they can destroy minds as well." Kurenai kept going.

"What do you mean 'destroy minds?'" Shino asked.

"They wreck a person's mental state. Cause them to go insane," Kurenai sighed.

Shino breathed out, "That certainly is something. We'd better keep alert if that's who our opponents are."

"Agreed." Kiba nodded, and Akamaru raised his head.

Kurenai took the opportunity and added, "Don't get too scared, though, these techniques are powerful, but they tend to backlash extremely easily. They'll most likely work the best if you're more paranoid than you should be." She noticed Kiba giving a dirty look, as if he wanted to retort how he wasn't worried, and he would never be that pathetic during a mission. It was wise that he kept his mouth shut.

* * *

The environment changed after a while, and the trees became less plentiful. Rocky terrain rose, and mountains could be seen in the distance.

"Alright, let's rest here." Kurenai said, and the squad slowed down at the edge of the forest. Hinata was exhausted from running that far, but she didn't want to make a scene. She was just thankful that her sensei decided to stop when she did.

"Where exactly are we?" Kiba asked his squad, generally.

"Honestly, Kiba, I thought you'd know this. We're currently on the border of Oto. We're getting close to Kaminari no Kuni." Shino answered, in monotone. Kiba nodded, and dropped to the ground.

"Well, okay then. Rest time," Kiba said flat-out, and Akamaru lay down beside him. Hinata sat down on her knees, and took a few deep breaths.

"Kurenai-sensei, are we going to go to Kumogakure, or are we just going to hang around the land?" Shino asked, still standing.

"We can't go into the village yet," Kurenai crossed her arms, "We can't do anything that would risk blowing our cover. I think we'll be safe from attack so long as the Seishin aren't aware that we're after them. Once they know of our presence… Well, all we can do is take them out or flee."

"I see," Shino's voice grew quiet, "This mission is getting more complicated the more it's progressing."

"Let's just be happy that we haven't been attacked. I doubt we're in any position to defend ourselves," Kiba said in a calmer attitude than he had been so far. Hinata was sure that the mission was shaking him up as well, even if he wouldn't admit it.

A moment of silence consumed the four, and Hinata took it up to relax. Kiba looked like he was about to fall asleep, but occasionally his nose would twitch. Same with Akamaru. Shino was standing still, just staring off into space. Kurenai was checking the supplies she brought. The Hyuuga girl sighed, and stretched her arms out in front of her.

"Get down!" Kiba's head flew up, and Shino dropped to the ground. Hinata squealed, startled, and dropped into a fetal position.

A handful of shuriken flew by overhead, and nailed into the ground and a tree nearby.

The four stood up, and pulled out a kunai each. Except Shino, who just stood and waited.

"Whoever's there, I suggest you come out," Kiba called.

"P-please. Don't attack," A male voice cried. He sounded terrified. Which he was.

A boy, appearing to be about sixteen, landed on the ground in front of the group. His dirty blond hair was a mess, and his brown eyes were piercing. Though he wasn't dressed like a shinobi, in his loose black shirt and tan pants, his throwing skills were impressive.

"Who are you? Why'd you attack us?" Shino asked.

"Really, I-I'm sorry. My name's Katsuro Yoshida. I thought y-you were the enemy. I'm really sorry," Katsuro stammered.

"How could you think we were the enemy?! Didn't you see our headbands?" Kiba demanded.

Katsuro smiled sheepishly. "Honestly, I didn't. Really, I'm sorry."

"This is beside the point. Who was the enemy you were referring to?" Kurenai shoved Kiba out of the conversation, in an attempt not to start a fight.

"The Seishin Clan." Katsuro said bitterly. "I'm from Kumogakure," He dug through his pouch, and pulled out the headband with the Kumo symbol carved into it. Kiba's eyes narrowed.

"Alright then. Why are you all the way out here?" Kurenai asked. Hinata found it amazing that she could keep her cool for so long.

"Out here?" Katsuro asked, dumbfounded.

"We're in Oto no Kuni, in case you didn't notice." Shino commented.

"Really? Oh, man. I have to get back to Kumogakure. The Raikage will have a fit if he finds out I came all the way out here," Katsuro fumbled his words, looking in random directions.

"Well, then I suggest you show us the way to Kumogakure," Kurenai finished.

Katsuro paused, before nodding to the Jounin. "Yeah, okay. By the way, what are your names?"

Kiba was first, "I'm Kiba Inuzuka, and this is Akamaru." Akamaru barked.

"Ah, an Inuzuka." Katsuro nodded thoughtfully. _This could pose as a problem…_ His hand tightened around the headband.

"And this is Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga," Shino didn't say anything, and Hinata bowed a little.

"I am Kurenai Yuhi, and I think it's time for us to go," Kurenai's eyes narrowed.

Katsuro noticed the Jounin's attitude, and a confused smile spread over his face. "Oh, right! I'm sorry. Let's get going."

In a synchronized fashion, they all set off with Katsuro at the front of the group. Hinata liked this new kid, mostly because of how honest of his mistakes he was. It had been while since she met someone during a mission who was as innocent at Katsuro was. Still, she couldn't help feeling cautious about him. She could tell how suspicious Kiba was acting, even if he wasn't speaking, so she could only assume something was wrong.

Turned away from the Konoha team, Katsuro grinned darkly.

_Neechan, I promise I won't fail you again. _


End file.
